The effects of SARS on China\u27s tourism enterprises

Tourism businesses are operating in an increasingly turbulent environment and are being forced to react to extreme circumstances that are outside of their control. This paper examines the affects of SARS on tourism enterprises in China through a national survey of hotels, travel agencies and other tourism-related businesses. While all types of enterprises were adversely affected, it is shown that differences existed according to the types of tourism enterprises. In particular, those located close to centers with SARS concentrations suffered most, large multinational enterprises were impacted more than smaller establishments and some attractions, particularly those in the periphery of major urban centres, benefited somewhat from the redirection of demand. The fiscal responses introduced by government to assist the industry were generally well received. There was strong agreement that the tourism market recovered rapidly following SARS and that those that had precautionary measures in place, particularly the large multi-national enterprises, recovered most quickly. Strong opinions existed on the need for governments and enterprises to set up precautionary management systems to prepare for tourism crises. There was also substantial agreement that sudden crises that affect the tourism industry will become more frequent in the future, indicating recognition that the operating environment is becoming more turbulent. Nevertheless, most respondents were optimistic about their future operating environment

The effects of SARS on China\u27s tourism enterprises

Tourism businesses are operating in an increasingly turbulent environment and are being forced to react to extreme circumstances that are outside of their control. This paper examines the affects of SARS on tourism enterprises in China through a national survey of hotels, travel agencies and other tourism-related businesses. While all types of enterprises were adversely affected, it is shown that differences existed according to the types of tourism enterprises. In particular, those located close to centers with SARS concentrations suffered most, large multinational enterprises were impacted more than smaller establishments and some attractions, particularly those in the periphery of major urban centres, benefited somewhat from the redirection of demand. The fiscal responses introduced by government to assist the industry were generally well received. There was strong agreement that the tourism market recovered rapidly following SARS and that those that had precautionary measures in place, particularly the large multi-national enterprises, recovered most quickly. Strong opinions existed on the need for governments and enterprises to set up precautionary management systems to prepare for tourism crises. There was also substantial agreement that sudden crises that affect the tourism industry will become more frequent in the future, indicating recognition that the operating environment is becoming more turbulent. Nevertheless, most respondents were optimistic about their future operating environment

FPGA-based Digital Baseband Transmission System Performance Tester Research and Design

Communication System Transmission Performance Tester, as a digital communication system design and testing equipment, plays an important role in the construction and daily maintenance of the communication system. The paper presents a kind of tester, which is designed using Cyclone IV FPGA (Field Programmable Gata Array) and VHDL (Very High Speed Integrated Circuits Hardware Description Language). According to the features in the eye diagram, the system performance can intuitively and qualitatively evaluated. The results prove that the system accurately displayed the eye diagram, thereby reflected the performance of the baseband transmission system truthfull

Preparation and characterization of simvastatin/DMβCD complex and its pharmacokinetics in rats

Simvastatin is poorly bioavailable because it is practically insoluble in water and shows dissolution rate-limited absorption. Solubilizing effects of several β-cyclodextrin （βCD） derivatives such as HPβCD, SBEβCD and DMβCD on simvastatin in aqueous solution were investigated using the phase solubility technique. The solubility diagram of simvastatin with each βCD derivative could be classified as AL-type, indicating soluble complex formation of 1:1 stoichiometry. Among the above βCD derivatives DMβCD was found to be the ideal complexing agent for improving drug solubility. The simvastatin complex with DMβCD was prepared using the co-evaporation method and was then characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and in vitro dissolution. Dissolution and pharmacokinetic studies indicated that the simvastatin/DMβCD complex exhibited an increased dissolution rate, rapid absorption, and improved bioavailability in rats compared to free drug. Maximum plasma concentration (cmax) and the time to reach it (tmax) were 21.86 µg mL–1 and 1.4 h for the drug complex, 8.25 µg mL–1 and 3.0 h for free drug, respectively. Main pharmacokinetic parameters such as tmax, cmax were significantly different (p < 0.01) between the simvastatin complex and free drug. Bioavailability of the simvastatin complex relative to free drug was up to 167.0 %

The Role of Visitors’ Sports Attachment on Olympic Tourism Experience

This study intends to examine Olympic tourists’ consumption experience by taking account of the visitors’ sports attachment. A total of 486 completed and usable surveys were collected during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The results indicated that sports attachment served as an important factor which may influence Olympic tourists’ destination perception and their overall experience. Olympic tourists with higher degree of sports attachment were more motivated to travel and attend the Games, and had better destination image of the host city than those who had lower level of sports attachment. In addition, they tended to reflect a better Olympic experience and were more likely to have repeat visitation to the host city in the future. When combined with the effect of the demographics, sports attachment was the primary driving force that influences the variation of visitors’ experience evaluation. The study provided insights of the relative importance of Olympic visitors’ own emotional involvement of sports and athletes/teams on their judgment of the total experience

The strengthening effect of inter-layer cold working and post-deposition heat treatment on the additively manufactured Al-6.3Cu alloy

Wire + Arc Additive Manufacture (WAAM) attracts great interest from the aerospace industry for producing components with aluminum alloys, particularly Al-Cu alloy of the 2000 series such as 2219 alloy. However the application is restricted by the low strength properties of the as-deposited WAAM metal. In this study two strengthening methods were investigated - inter-layer cold working and post-deposition heat treatment. Straight wall samples were prepared with 2319 aluminum alloy wire. Inter-layer rolling with loads of 15 kN, 30 kN and 45 kN were employed during deposition. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS) of the inter-layer rolled alloy with 45 kN load can achieve 314. MPa and 244. MPa respectively. The influence of post-deposition T6 heat treatment was investigated on the WAAM alloy with or without rolling. Compared with inter-layer rolling, post-deposition heat treatment can provide much greater enhancement of the strength. After T6 treatment, the UTS and YS of both of the as-deposited and 45 kN rolled alloys exceeded 450. MPa and 305. MPa respectively, which are higher than the properties of the wrought 2219-T6 alloy. The strengthening mechanisms of this additively manufactured Al-6.3Cu alloy were investigated through microstructure analysis

Clinical Observation of Erlotinib in the Treatment of Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Report of 92 Eases

Background and objective Erlotinib, a selective inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, has been approved effective in local advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of erlotinib for the treatment of advanced NSCLC. Methods Ninety-two patients with advanced NSCLC who had failed or not tolerated or refused chemotherapy received 150 mg oral doses of erlotinib once daily until the disease progression or intolerable toxicity. Results Among the 92 NSCLC patients, 2 patient got complete response (2.2%), 22 partial response (23.9%), 48 stable disease (52.2%) and 20 progressive disease (21.7%). The overall response rate and the disease controlled rate of erlotinib was 26.1% (24/92) and 78.3% (72/92), respectively. The response rate of erlotinib were significantly higher in rash and ECOG 0-1 than no rash and ECOG ≥ 2. The disease controlled rate of erlotinib was significantly higher in female and non-smokers than male and smokers (P &lt; 0.05). The response rate of erlotinib did not show significant differences within pathological type or previous treatment. The most common side effects were rash and diarrhea with 84.8% and 31.5%, respectively, but usually were mild. Conclusion Erlotinib is effective and safe in the treatment of advanced NSCLC patients

N-acetylcysteine Protects against Apoptosis through Modulation of Group I Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Activity

The activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (group I mGlus) has been shown to produce neuroprotective or neurotoxic effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a precursor of the antioxidant glutathione, on group I mGlus activation in apoptosis of glial C6 and MN9D cell lines, and a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD). We demonstrated that NAC protected against apoptosis through modulation of group I mGlus activity. In glial C6 cells, NAC promoted phosphorylation of ERK induced by (s)-3,5- dihydroxy-phenylglycine (DHPG), an agonist of group I mGlus. NAC enhanced the group I mGlus-mediated protection from staurosporine (STS)-induced apoptosis following DHPG treatment. Moreover, in rotenone-treated MN9D cells and PD rat model, NAC protected against group I mGlus-induced toxicity by compromising the decrease in phosphorylation of ERK, phosphorylation or expression level of TH. Furthermore, the results showed that NAC prohibited the level of ROS and oxidation of cellular GSH/GSSG (Eh) accompanied by activated group I mGlus in the experimental models. Our results suggest that NAC might act as a regulator of group I mGlus-mediated activities in both neuroprotection and neurotoxicity via reducing the oxidative stress, eventually to protect cell survival. The study also suggests that NAC might be a potential therapeutics targeting for group I mGlus activation in the treatment of PD

(2,2′-Bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxyl­ato-κ3 N,N′,O 6)(6′-carb­oxy-2,2′-bipyridine-6-carboxyl­ato-κ3 N,N′,O 6)cobalt(III)

The CoIII atom in the title compound, [Co(C12H6N2O4)(C12H7N2O4)], is six-coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral geometry by four N atoms and two O atoms of the chelating 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxyl­ate and 6′-carb­oxy-2,2′-bipyridine-6-carboxyl­ate ligands. Intermolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and face-to-face π-stacking inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.6352 (16) Å] between inversion-related pyridine rings link adjacent mononuclear units into a two-dimensional supra­molecular structure, and several inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions are also observed